Yozgat Çanak Cheese is a low-fat and semi-fat product unique to Yozgat, made from milk obtained from sheep, goats and cows fed by the natural vegetation and water resources of Yozgat center and its districts. Each family either produces only its own milk, or a few families come together (milk house method) and process their milk into cheese, respectively. The product takes its name from its packaging. After being pressed into a bowl made of soil, it is matured by burying it in the sand. Homemade yeast is used in the production of cheese.

How is Yozgat Canak Cheese Made?

Milk that is milked by hand is filtered into containers to make cheese using cloth bags called strainers. After straining, the milk is not heated. If the milk has been waited and cooled after milking, it is fermented by being slightly heated. The fermentation temperature of the milk varies between 32-35°C. After the heat setting, the milks are fermented in the container in which they are filtered. For fermentation, a tea glass (100 ml) of yeast is put into 10 kg of milk. While the yeast is added slowly, the milk is constantly stirred. After the fermented milk is thoroughly mixed, the cauldron containing the milk is placed on a cushion and wrapped with a thick cloth and kept for 2-5 hours for clot formation. The resulting clot is cut into four parts with a ladle and left for 15-20 minutes. It is rested and then the raw cheese is put into cloth bags made of thin permeable fabric, which are sewn at four corners, can take 1-3 kg of clots, and wait for 30-120 minutes. It is hung on a high place (until no water flows from the bag) and left to drain. Then, 3-5 kg of pressure is applied to 1 kg of cheese with properly shaped stones for 10-20 hours. A wooden fingerboard is placed under the bag and a stone is placed on it. Thus, it is ensured that the whey is filtered thoroughly. The raw cheese taken from the press is poured into large bowls and cut into large pieces with a knife and salted. The amount of salt is adjusted so that the cheese is normally salty. (75 g for 1 kg of cheese) Fine sand-sized rock salt is used for salting. It is crushed by hand and a little more salt is added to make it salty. The shredded and salted cheese is put in a thin bag, compressed by hand and tightly tied. The cheese in the bag is pressed a second time in a cool environment (12-16 °C). Smooth stones are used as weight, approximately 10 kg of weight is applied for 1 kg of cheese. This second printing process applied is called “tercan”, “tecin”, “tecen” or “suppressed” and the printing period varies between 2-7 days. At the end of the pressure, the cheese is poured into a basin and crushed by hand and a little more salt is added. (25 g of salt per 1 kg of cheese)

The cheese, which is ready for printing, is placed in small amounts in bowls made of earth and pressed into the bowl very tightly by hand in a way that does not get air. Cheese spoils quickly if it gets air. After the dish is full, a little more salt is sprinkled on the rim, tied with a clean cloth so that no gaps are left inside, and kept in this way for 2-3 days, then turned upside down and left for another 3-5 days. Then, the mouth of the bowl is opened, washed and dried vine leaves or a clean cloth are placed in contact with cheese and covered with solid dough. After a cloth is tied on the dough, the bowls are turned upside down and more than half or all of them are buried in the sand. The sand in which the bowls are buried should be fine, slightly pebbly and slightly moist. Sand is poured on the ground, when the number of bowls is low, the sand is placed in a box and buried in the bowls. Maturation is done in cool and slightly humid environments for 4 months. After maturation is finished, it is vacuum packed and stored at 0-4 °C storage temperature for 2-3 months.